On the go: Members of the Unite trade union who work at the University of Dundee have agreed to carry out "continuous strike action" for a second time from August 25 over pensions.
On August 10, Unite Scotland announced that 83 per cent of voting members had backed a strike in a ballot with a turnout of 66 per cent.
The industrial action will take place in response to the university’s plans to close its defined benefit scheme to staff from ‘Grades 1-6’. Staff in Grade 1 are paid a salary to reflect the living wage while those at the top end of Grade 6 were paid an annual salary of £36,382 as of August last year.
Under the university’s plans, these staff will be moved into a defined contribution scheme. The university has claimed that changes were necessary because of higher costs faced by the University of Dundee Superannuation Scheme and increased risks from longer life expectancy, historically low interest rates and volatile economic conditions.
Unite said the proposal would see some workers’ pensions in the proposed scheme drop to £14,400 from £20,100 a year. Members carried out an 11-day strike in October 2021 over the plan.
After the first strike, “the university withdrew their proposals for a defined contribution scheme and Unite went back into talks to explore all defined benefit options", the union said. “Frustratingly we have seen insufficient movement by the university.”
The Scottish government has urged the two sides to reach an agreement.
A university spokesperson said: “We have recently completed analysis of the formal consultation exercise which closed on June 24, the results of which will inform the final proposal. An updated proposal is currently being developed and will be considered by the University Court in August.
“The proposed changes, in our view, offer a range of benefits to members of the pension scheme.
“The introduction of a Defined Contribution (DC) scheme will make pension provision more affordable for greater numbers of staff, especially the lower paid staff who find the existing Defined Benefit (DB) scheme too expensive to join. The DC scheme has variable rates of contribution so staff members can choose the rate of contribution they feel they can afford."
“Those in the DB scheme will have increased choice and flexibility as they can, if they wish, choose to come out of the DB scheme and join the DC scheme. The university's original position was to close the DB scheme and move all staff into a DC scheme. After listening to staff and the campus unions, we revised the proposals and are now planning to keep the DB scheme open for existing members."
The proposed changes include the new provision of a death in service benefit to all staff, the university said, whether they are in a pension scheme or not.
“It is our sincere hope that we will ultimately have more staff who are able to join a pension scheme, thus helping address the issue of pension poverty, particularly for some lower paid staff," the university said.
